Cobras claim another win from the Panthers

KILCUNDA-BASS continued to leave the Cora Lynn box unchecked after going down by 39 points on Saturday.

The Panthers travelled to the Cora Lynn Recreation Reserve eager to step up to the challenge posed by the Cobras.

However Cora Lynn gained an early lead with the Panthers struggling to hit targets.

“On the day I thought our ball movement was really good in the first quarter — we just couldn’t hit the scoreboard. We just fell down at that last kick,” Kilcunda-Bass coach Lee Rowe said.

“Revisiting the vision, it didn’t lie. We were pretty good. It’s too simple to say one guy is winning them a game of football, but they’ve got Nathan Gardiner, who’s a really potent forward and a real target for them to deliver to, and if we weren’t putting the pressure on up the ground it did seem as simple as that.”

Gardiner did his job well for the Cobras and booted six goals for the day under the pressure of Panthers defender Steven Scott, who also held his own.

“Steven Scott did super. All the ones that were 50/50, he spoiled. The ones that were impossible to spoil were marked by Gardiner. It was pretty cut and dry — when they deliver with that quality, you can’t stop it,” Rowe said.

“We still have things to work on, but it’s not all doom and gloom.”

The second quarter unfolded similarly with Kilcunda-Bass unable to create good connections up forward.

Another blow came for the Panthers when they lost Nathan Foote after a knock to the neck.

Foote was taken off the ground as a precaution but had been playing a solid game up until that point and was a notable loss for Kilcunda-Bass.

Despite this Kilcunda-Bass hit the scoreboard at the end of the second term and was ready to roll into half-time.

The Panthers came back into the game with a competitive edge and delivered a real contest to finish the match.

“We certainly won the last quarter, which was great. We needed to finish it off in a way that felt good for the team,” Rowe said.

“I think we had enough of the football to suggest that we could have been more competitive on the scoreboard. We’ve just got to work on some of our connections up forward. Sometimes that’s the opposition too, so you’ve got to give them credit where credit’s due.”

For Kilcunda-Bass, David Sollberger was once again a standout and Hayden Brough was a solid presence in the midfield.

Dale Gawley had a few different roles and contributed to the game nicely, but across the board the team showed excellent potential for the rest of the season.
Foote will be back in Kilcunda-Bass’ line-up again next week as the Panthers take on Dalyston.

This is set to be a fantastic match, with these two teams often producing exciting clashes and Dalyston hosting its MND fundraiser.

“This is always a crazy game. Dalyston always gets up for this round and the matches are always close. Regardless of where either team is sitting on the ladder, it’s always a challenge,” Rowe said.

“It’ll be a good weekend with Dalyston’s MND fundraiser. We’re going to do all we can to support it and make a good day of it, but hopefully we can get the points.”